Four Strategies To Find Franchise Prospects
For most of us who have stood steadfastly by our tradeshow booth hoping to capture just one solid franchise lead, the chances of having a good prospect drop by has been fairly depressing in the past few years.
While solid candidates are in attendance at most franchise shows, many attendees are franchise tire-kickers--folks who are just out for a stroll, picking up knickknacks and dreaming of a life away from the humdrum 9 to 5 job that pays the bills and keeps the boat afloat.
Like most franchise sales organizations, The Franchise Sales Solution is trying to attract the small group of solid prospects who have already determined that they are going to join the ranks of other entrepreneurs and purchase a franchise. What will ultimately attract them to the franchise brands we represent is the million-dollar question.
All of the franchisors that we represent have solid track records and profitable, proven systems, but many of them are new to franchising. As any franchise sales team will tell you, attracting that first handful of franchisees is the greatest challenge they have faced as an entrepreneur.
In the past year, we have developed a number of strategic partnerships that we believe will help provide our clients with the best opportunity for engaging new prospective franchisees. Though we will still be attending franchise shows, the bulk of what we are doing is a huge paradigm shift from past practices. Here are four of the new strategies we will use in 2012:
- Mini Multi-Franchise Educational Seminars in markets where we want to expand. Attendees will be prescreened and personally invited to learn more about franchising.
- Social Media Blueprints that put equal emphasis on expanding retail presence while increasing search parameters for clients looking for a franchise opportunity.
- Establishing a concrete public relations strategy that drives interest in a brands franchise opportunity.
- Increasing the top-of-the-funnel by optimizing and promoting content that will increase website traffic and leads by partnering with companies like HubSpot.
Each of the strategies above is a part of the larger franchise lead generation program. Not all franchisors are fully able to put these strategies in place; the strategic partnerships that we have developed will allow for an expansion of the lead generation program without putting additional stress on the franchisor.
Now it’s your turn. What one strategy have you used that has provided you with increased qualified franchise candidates?
At The Franchise Sales Solution, we believe that there has been a fundamental shift in our economy. An entire group of high wage earners have been displaced over the past 36 months, and corporate America has found that they can do without them.
Finding it difficult to re-establish themselves in a new industry at a significant pay cut, many find themselves contemplating the pros and cons of the entrepreneurial life and investigating what it takes to become a franchise owner.
Franchise Direct recently surveyed 335 people “who were looking to franchising as a way to pursue their career goals”. There are many reasons for investing in a franchise; however, the psychodynamics of being your own boss must surely be associated with the downsizing of America’s job market.
The survey provides great insight into what people are thinking and confirms what we have been seeing for the past 12 months. Our economy will rebound; however, it is going to take displaced workers dipping into their personal savings and retirement funds to make it happen. Nearly 49% of respondents understood that they would need to leverage their nest egg to start a business.
Our recent experience and meetings with local banks continues to suggest that even though banks have money on their balance sheets, the lending environment is only strong if you have assets and collateral to support the loan. In addition, the SBA’s stipulations have been strangled by regulations, which is making the program difficult to navigate and exhausting to complete.
We believe that the challenge for this group of displaced high wage earners will be selecting a franchise opportunity that will provide a solid return on investment, while at the same time delivering a strategy for future growth through multi-unit or multi-brand ownership.
For all the survey results link to the entire article at http://tinyurl.com/7sqb2bj
Do you know someone who is looking to purchase a franchise? What kind of experience are they having in this lending environment?
Scotts LawnService Franchising Welcomes the Bass’s To Their Franchise Family
I have a great job. I help people who are looking to purchase a franchise find the right opportunity. It’s an awesome responsibility and I love it. A few months ago, I took a call from a doctor in Alexandria, LA. Dr. Robert Bass had a successful practice in Alexandria, but he and his wife Dee Ann felt there was a huge void in the quality of lawn service companies in their area. Their hope was to bring the Scotts LawnService brand home to Alexandria.
Scotts LawnService Franchise Training
In our initial call, I could sense Robert’s enthusiasm for finding a franchise business that he and Dee Ann could expand over the next 5 years. They felt that their business would benefit from their standing in the community, as well as the knowledge and skills that Dee Ann has gained through her years working in corporate America.
As a franchise sales consultant, our franchise sales company (The Franchise Sales Solution) is committed to finding the right franchise opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to purchase a franchise. The one-size-fits-all models do not fit into our sales philosophy. The sale means nothing if we can’t sleep at night because we have not done our due diligence and ensured a solid fit for our clients.
I sensed that we had the perfect fit the minute I met Dee Ann in Columbus, Ohio, at the Scotts LawnService Franchise headquarters. Her questions to Jim Miller (Director of Scotts LawnService Franchising) and his team were relevant and convincing. Everyone knew the Bass Team was going to be successful. Randy McGuire, Scotts LawnService National Trainer, summed it up after their training:
“Occasionally, new franchisees come on board that give you a special feeling. The team from Alexandria is just that type of group. Not only are Robert and Dee Ann Bass special people, but they have also hired a great manager (Danny Higdon), and you usually don’t find this kind of potential right out of the gate. I predict that they will be one of the system’s top performers in the near future.”
Dee Ann & Robert Bass along with Manger Danny Hidgon with Scotts Truck
As a company, we are so proud to be working with quality franchisors like Scotts LawnService. If you are searching for a franchise opportunity or a franchise sales company—call us. We love talking franchise!
When one thinks of a franchised sub sandwich chain, Subway immediately comes to mind. Sure, there’s your Quiznos here and there, a Jimmy John’s here, a Jersey Mike’s there, a Firehouse over there. But no sub shop comes close to the success of franchise behemoth Subway. You can’t argue with nearly 30,000 units.
Or can you? Jodi Kobrin, President of Sobik’s Subs, said a locally-owned and operated sub sandwich shop can compete and win against Subway and others through strong customer service, superior local-store marketing, and a diverse menu featuring unique subs you can’t get at national chains.
Sobik’s Subs, founded in 1969, currently has 14 franchised units. But Kobrin said the Orlando-based chain has plans to increase its presence in Central Florida, and throughout the state, with the opening of multiple new units in the coming year.
The Franchise Sales Solution recently sat down with Kobrin at one of her Sobik’s locations to learn more about the history of Sobik’s Subs and plans for the future.
TFSS: How did you become involved with Sobik’s Subs?
Jodi Kobrin: A short time after I started working at Sobik’s Subs, I realized the hospitality industry was for me. I could see there were opportunities for advancement with this company. Within a few years I was an area manager for several locations. During that time I began training franchisees that owned and operated their Sobik’s Subs locations. I found this very rewarding and often thought about becoming a franchisee. It wasn’t long before I put that thought into action and purchased a location in Longwood, Florida. I continued to train new franchisees as Sobik’s Subs increased their units. After several years, I decided to sell my location and become Director of Training and Operations for Sobik’s Subs. At this time, I am currently president of Sobik’s Subs Franchising Inc.
Sobik’s Subs has been a part of the Orlando and Central Florida Community for decades. What’s the history involved? Why Orlando?
In 1969, the Sobik family opened the first Sobik’s Sub Shop in Altamonte Springs. After experiencing great success and many inquires about franchising, they decided to franchise Sobik’s Subs in the Orlando area as there were few sub shops in the market at that time.
Well, today the Central Florida restaurant scene is a crowded one. What sets Sobik’s Subs apart from your competitors in the quick-service food industry? How does Sobik’s Subs continue to thrive?
Sobik’s Subs is primarily known for its cheese steak subs and its many specialty hot subs. As we all know, the Hispanic population is booming in Florida, and we are the only sub franchise that offers a Cuban Sandwich. It’s this diversity of choices and freshness that truly sets our concept apart from the other sub guys out there. And our franchisees focus on knowing and understanding their customers, which is a rare find these days. We continue to thrive based on our founding principles: quality products, customer service, cleanness, and over 40+ years of franchising.
What qualities are you looking for in a prospective franchisee?
Sobik’s is looking for single and multi-unit operators with food service and/or restaurant experience, a passion for fresh food, and a commitment to exceptional customer service.
Are you also looking for area developers?
Yes, we feel that area developers and multi-unit operators are the key to franchise success for Sobik’s in the short and long term. We have some excellent opportunities for like-minded entrepreneurs.
Based on your observations, what concrete steps do your most successful franchisees take in order to build and grow their businesses?
There are a few things that you’ll find at any established, growing restaurant franchise: a well-trained staff, excellent customer service, consistency in recipes, quality products, strong marketing and local advertising, a great web and social media presence and a sense of community. I am so proud that our Sobik’s franchisees share these beliefs. We’ve practiced what we preach since 1969 here in the Orlando community.
What kind of ongoing support do you extend to your franchisees to help them become more successful?
When you become a Sobik’s Subs Franchisee, and part of our system, you can expect extensive on-going training, a management team that will actually pick up the phone when you call, superior marketing support chain-wide and for your local-store marketing needs, corporate chef support, purchasing power, research and analysis of menu trends and food costs, and, above all, a sense of teamwork and family. We are all in this together, as partners.
Is there anything else that you would like to share about Sobik’s Subs?
We have been Orlando’s favorite sub shop for more than 40 years now and we are now ready to expand throughout the state and up the East Coast. There’s never been a better time to join the Sobik’s Subs team, as we are offering amazing incentives to new franchisees to jump-start our renewed franchising efforts. There’s really no better time than the present to start your own business. As a Sobik’s Subs franchisee you are in business for yourself, not by yourself.
To learn more about Sobik’s Subs and their franchise opportunity:
On the webs: www.sobiks.com
On Twitter: @sobikssubs
Facebook: search sobik’s subs
Email: info@sobiks.com
Franchising and Conversion
Conversion franchising has been around for awhile. Most of the early conversions found hotels converting to brand affiliations (Ramada, Holiday Inns, etc) and real estate independents converting to the likes of ReMax and ERA. In these early cases, converting was associated with potential resource advantages coupled with the benefits of picking up a well-known brand with an organization behind it that has a good grasp on technology and marketing. The competitive advantages seemed to make sense and the goal of selling franchises was realized.
Today, I am hard pressed to believe that someone who has a profitable, well-run business would even entertain the idea of converting into a franchise system. The costs in this instance would make it difficult to get a reasonable return on the investment of re-branding. And how about the community good-will that could be jeopardized by customers who feel that the mom and pop lost it’s soul? On the other hand, would there be an advantage of a franchisor converting a mom and pop that wasn’t successful? An intriguing dilemma that has as many positives and challenges.
Positives:
- System wide economies of scale
- Additional franchise royalty stream
- Easier than opening a new franchise units
- Quicker candidate approval
- Market penetration
- Less monitoring
- Reduced local competition
Challenges:
- Modification of franchise agreement
- Typically a reduction in fees
- Significant management time in the initial setup phase
- Integrating the independent into system
- Re-training in franchise system and best practices
Developing A Conversion Strategy
A number of the franchisors we represent have a “Conversion Strategy”. Our thought is that the greatest challenge in using conversions to grow into a new market is ensuring that the initial advantages of the brand, technology, social media strategy, etc. begs franchisors to make “some adjustments” to their sales strategy to attract well run businesses. The franchise conversion strategy should be part of the franchise sales strategy. Cause and Effect. ”Be”cause we are flexible in how we approach and adjust to the needs of the well-run business, we have the best opportunity to convert and sell them on the advantages of joining our franchise team.
Our feeling is that new franchisors should have a conversion strategy built into the sales strategy from early on. You never know when an opportunity may present itself. ”Be”cause you are prepared to address the possibility.
Learn More About Franchise Conversation Strategy and Sales
The Franchise Sales Solution is available to assist you with your franhise sales program. Contact us if you would like to discuss your franchise conversion strategy.
From time to time, I come across a book that has a profound impact on my perspective. Given that my perspective is my view of the world and the formation of my beliefs are based on my experiences I questioned how “giving” could help our team here at The Franchise Sales Soliution sell the brands that we represent.
Then along comes Bob Burg and his little red book on how a successful Go-Giver can benefit from changing his perspective. At TFSS we strive to do the right thing for our clients and our mission and primary goal is to help folks get into business for themselves . . . . to live the dream and build something that will employ others and impact many lives.
Burg’s parable focuses on Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and each of them provides an abundance of wisdom that may help you in evaluating the sales strategy that you currently employ.
1. The Law Of Value. What if your true worth was determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment? How would your financial situation be impacted?
2. The Law Of Compensation. In a true servant spirit, what if the number of people you served effected your income? What could be so bad about giving attention to the needs of others through servant-leadership or servant-salesship
3. The Law Of Influence. The book disposes with the idea that a fifty-fifty is a win-win situation. The only winning proposition is a one-hundred percent. So by placing the interests of others first you will have a greater influence on others in the future.
4. The Law Of Authenticity. Sincerity and good intentions. At The Franchise Sales Solution we believe that prospective franchisees quickly recognize that we are committed to helping them find a business that fits their profile and and personal economics. We are so proud to represent franchisors that feel the same. It is not about the sale . . . but about the right sale.
5. The Law Of Receptivity. Recognizing that you can’t do it on your own is the foundation for our business. We rely on a strong lead referral program, creative marketing, PR professionals and a team of sales folks who know that effective giving is made possible by being open to receiving.
These five Laws may not change your life . . . but it should give you something to think about.
Your mind is made up. You have decided to follow the entrepreneurial trail and buy a franchise. Now what? There are so many choices that the process of narrowing the list down to the one that fits you best can be daunting.
For the sake of this post, lets assume you have followed the conventional methods of whittling the list down to your top three choices (by using portals; i.e. franchise.com or by talking to existing franchisees). You have determined that all your finalists are the right fit and best suit your lifestyle. You have talked with existing franchisees and they are all happy with their choice and speak highly of the franchisor. Hmmm? Now comes the more difficult task of untangling the intangibles assets and the ones that just don’t surface at first glance or while discussing the opportunity with the franchise sales team.
Your search to find the right franchise should leverage the same strategies that you may employ if you were searching for a job. Had this been a job search, you would have surely networked with friends and associates to gather intel on businesses that you may want to seek employment with. As a savvy job searcher, you would have searched company and individual profiles on LinkedIn and tapped into the company RSS and Twitter feeds about the company who’s attention you may want to attract.
Below are a few steps you can take to help you get a clear picture about the franchise system with who you are about to sign a 10-year agreement:
- What are consumers saying about the product or service of the franchise system you are thinking about joining? Follow the company twitter site and facebook fan page. Although you will usually find raving fans; the insight you gather from a dissatisfied consumer and how the company handled the complaint will provide further intel about the companies internal culture.
- Type ” What are customers saying about XXXXX franchise?” into your Google search. Your search will reveal consumer affairs links that will be helpful in providing you a list of questions to discuss with the franchisor.
- Search and follow franchisee twitter and blog posts. Is the tone of the franchisee posts upbeat and supportive about the business they now own?
- Check out Careerbliss. This site may provide you insight into what the employees are saying about the business opportunity you are reviewing.
- Is the franchisor using social media to promote the brand? Like our not, social media is here to stay. Does the franchise system you are looking at have a powerful social media strategy? Is it updated frequently? How will your location be able to leverage what the existing corporate strategy? And what if they don’t have a strategy? This may says volumes about the system you are about to join.
We hope this has been helpful. We’d love to hear how you have used the web and social media to assist you in your search for entrepreneurial freedom. As always, our team at the Franchise Sales Solution is available to assist you in finding the right franchise opportunity.
For franchisors, the end game of franchise sales is all about the number of qualified franchise leads that are generated through the franchise sales program. Successful franchisors use a variety of methods to generate interest in their brand, including franchise portals and referrals. Each plays an important role in the success of the franchise sales campaign by “driving activity” and “interest in the brand” through a well thought out plan of franchise lead generation.
The onslaught of social media has helped small franchisors to get the word out about their brand; however, it is not nearly enough in most cases. Building your customers or clients by connecting friends, family and others who have similar interests or who support your brand is important. However it is usually going to fall well short if social media alone is the primary focus of your franchise sales strategy.
Are you using PR as part of your franchise lead generation strategy?
If the objective of Public Relations is to craft messages about your franchise opportunity targeted at a variety of different publics, why is not a part of your overall strategy? Many franchisors have been using PR for years and have a successful track record to prove that a well-crafted message targeted at the right public generates solid franchise candidates.
One of our clients, BannaStows Crepes and Coffee, has seen a significant increase in franchise sales activity since contracting No Limit Media, an Atlanta-based public relationsh firm. This is just one example of how a well-formulated strategy with the right partner can yield franchise leads.
What differentiates your franchise opportunity from all the others?
Let the team at The Franchise Sales Solution help you formulate the answer to this question and help in the development of a strong Public Relations strategy that will help you sell more franchises